All I Have
by Sansastarkofwinterfell
Summary: How did Tony and Pepper reunite between Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming. This is my take on how they got back together.


Hey guys, so this is my first non-GOT fanfic so I hope it's good. I love Tony and Pepper's relationship and was so happy when she turned up in Homecoming and it just got me wondering how they reunited. This is my first Marvel fic, so they may be slightly out of character, however I hope not too much.

* * *

He was used to pain by now. He had suffered for most of his life. From the moment his parents had died, Tony had used his confidence and arrogance as a defence mechanism, to prevent the world from seeing what was truly there; emptiness. Wrapped in between his parents dying and an endless list of betrayals were losses and scars, both physically and mentally harming him. But now Tony was truly at rock bottom, and this time he had no one to turn to.

Rhodey had his own problems right now and he needed Tony to be there for him, not the other way around. He knew how much his best friend was struggling to adapt to losing the use of his legs. Rhodey had a long road to recovery ahead of him, and he didn't need Tony's problems added to his own.

Bruce was likely dead. It pained Tony to think that, but that was the truth. No one had heard anything from him in over a year. Nothing was showing up on the new SHIELD radar, and there were no whispers of giant green monsters anywhere. He still hoped his friend was out there somewhere, but with each passing day, it grew less and less likely.

Happy was far away on a business meeting, hard at work trying to keep his company alive. Tony didn't want to bother him. He knew Happy would cancel his plans to come and essentially babysit Tony, but he knew that wasn't what was needed. Happy should stay where he was, and Tony's guilt would only increase if he pulled his friend away from his work.

There was of course Vision and Natasha, but he didn't feel in the right mood to share his troubles with either of them. Natasha grew easier to talk to every time he saw her and Tony almost felt like he could call her a friend, but she wasn't the redhead he truly wanted to talk to. As for Vision, his head was with Wanda, freed from her cell but now on the run from Ross.

And then there was Steve. Despite his apologies, Steve was the last person he wanted to see right now. It would make him feel worse. He didn't hate Steve, he never could after all they'd been through, but it didn't make it easier. Deep down Tony knew Steve was only doing what he thought was right as he always does, but that had still hurt Tony. He had spent over twenty years believing his parents had died in a car crash, and although it still hurt him that he would never see his mother again or that he never said what he wanted to say to his father, he had made his peace with the manner of their deaths several years ago. To suddenly find out that not only were they murdered, but someone you considered your close friend knew about it and chose to keep it from you, was very painful.

He was conflicted in his thoughts about Barnes. He knew that the man was brainwashed, but he had still killed his parents. And he could understand Steve's desire to protect his friend, but he had still committed those crimes. _Does it make me a bad person to hate someone who didn't know what he was doing?_

There was only one person who Tony felt like he could talk to. The one person who he needed more than anyone. The one he wanted to see.

 _Pepper._ The name was like an imprint on his mind.

He missed her more than words could describe and he truly needed her right now. He needed her like he needed air. She was always the one person he could turn to for anything, even before they were together.

It broke him when she left him, shattered him into a thousand pieces and since then he's been a shell of the man he was. He hadn't wanted her to leave and had fought to keep their relationship alive, but they say if you love someone you have to let them go. And so he did.

Right now he was regretting that decision though because he truly needed her, he had no one else. _She must have seen the news recently. Surely she has._ Following the fallout in Leipzig, every news station across the world had covered the Avengers and how they had fought against each other. Of course the news made it seem much worse than what it was, but they had a field day when they found out that the once friendly Iron Man and Captain America were no longer friends.

 _They don't know even half of the story_ , Tony thought bitterly as he sighed and picked up his phone. He scrolled down to her name and hit dial, but was only met with her answering machine.

It was still wonderful to hear her voice, but it wasn't really her, so it offered him no comfort. He called twice more and there was still no answer, so he decided to leave a message in the hope that she would be able to get back to him.

"Hey Pepper. Look, I know you made it clear that it's better if we don't talk for a while but please hear my message. I-I need you here, more than ever. I've never felt so alone and you're the one person I need. I built this place so the Avengers could be together but we're further apart than ever before."

"The truth is, you're the one person who can fix my hurts. Hah, listen to me now. Whoever would've thought Tony Stark would be leaving these kinds of messages for someone."

He remained silent for a minute, before continuing talking to the machine.

"I learned something terrible, Pep. Something about my parents. It's broken me and I have no one to talk to about it. I'm sure you've seen how we've been fighting but it goes much deeper than that, and you're the only person I can open up to. The only person I trust not to judge me. I can't sleep, I don't feel like eating, I'm just a mess right now and I need you."

"I miss you, honey. Just-just please give me a call."

He hung up, well aware of how needy he had sounded, and noticed that there were small tears in his eyes. He wasn't one for emotion, but since he fell in love with Pepper, the floodgates had opened and he found he could act like his true self around her, without having to put the confident façade on.

The hours went by and there was no call back. Eventually, he admitted defeat and assumed she wouldn't come. More depressed than before, he sighed in frustration when Vision knocked on the glass door, trying to get his attention.

"Look, Vision I told you, I'm not really in the mood for company right now."

Vision didn't reply, he only remained silent and Tony kept his back to the door when he heard a voice.

"Tony?" He thought he was dreaming then. It was _her_ voice, the first time he had heard it for months and it was the most glorious sound he had ever heard. He didn't answer, only turned around and saw her standing by the door.

She must've seen the emotion in his eyes because she rushed through the door and took him in his arms. Still unable to speak, she spoke for him.

"I got your message and came as soon as I could."

He looked into her eyes, the eyes he had missed so much and became overwhelmed with emotion. She gathered him in her arms once more, and whispered comforting words into his ear and eventually he managed to whisper back to her.

"You're all I have."


End file.
